How was a German lockdown announced AND revoked within one day? Posted by Sten on Mar 25, 2021
It was a tough week for Bundeskanzlerin (f, Federal Chancellor) Angela Merkel. Due to the announced lockdown for Ostern (Easter), everyone went hart ins Gericht (“hard into court”) with her. With rising coronavirus cases, the planned Lockerungen (f, relaxations) of the COVID rules fielen ins Wasser (“fell in the water”). But what actually happened? A “knallharter Lockdown“ On Monday…
German Words Relating To Marriage Posted by Constanze on Mar 24, 2021
Guten Tag! I recently had a request to explain words relating to marriage, such as die Ehe, die Heirat, and der Ehemann. In fact, the German language has a handful of words on this subject that are easily muddled up, as their similarity of meaning can be confusing to learners. So in this post I…
Why 2021 Is a “Super Year” for Germany (a Superwahljahr) Posted by Sten on Mar 18, 2021
Germany is in a Superwahljahr (n, super election year). There is a Bundestagswahl (f, Federal Parliament election), sure. But wouldn’t that just make it an election year? What’s super about it? Elections, elections, elections! Germany is a federation, like the United States. This means that each of the 16 German states, called Bundesländer (n, “federal countries”), has its…
Lüften: Germany’s Airing Obsession & Covid-19 Posted by Constanze on Mar 17, 2021
Guten Tag! In a recent post on things you can expect to find in a German home, I talked about how die Heizung (the heating) and die Lüftung (the airing/ventilation) systems in German homes are different to those in US homes, meaning the Germans have to open their windows more often to prevent mould &…
4 Tips to Improve Your German Accent as an American Posted by Sten on Mar 11, 2021
Learning German can be hard enough. But then there’s also the German pronunciation. As an American, it can be daunting to get this right, especially because German sounds so different from American. But it can be done! I remember meeting an American some years ago, and before he told me that he was from the…
Germany’s 5 Steps To Get Rid of COVID Posted by Sten on Mar 5, 2021
Since March 1, die Friseure (hair salons) opened again in Germany. Finally! After months of lockdown, non-essential businesses can open again, at least that was the plan. However, there are now new rules in place that extend the current lockdown until the end of March, with a new strategy with five opening steps. Die Bundesregierung (federal government) presented five Öffnungsstrategien (f…
International Women’s Day And Germany Posted by Constanze on Mar 3, 2021
Guten Tag! As Monday 8th March is Internationale Frauentag (International Women’s Day) – and March is Monat der Frauengeschichte (Women’s History Month) -, I thought it’d be interesting to look at how International Women’s Day came about in Germany, whilst teaching you some vocabulary related to the subject. What’s pretty cool is that it was…